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More than the midpoint of the season, Brentford are in fantasy land.

With victories in their last five outings, and a Brazilian striker scoring the goals, suddenly supporters are dreaming of thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

A convincing 3-0 win over Sunderland moved their manager's side into fifth in the top flight – a position that was good enough to secure Champions League football last season.

Only table-toppers Arsenal have accumulated more points over the past half-dozen matches.

There is a significant distance to go yet but the West London outfit are firmly in the battle for European football.

Few was envisioning this last summer.

Thomas Frank had departed for Tottenham after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only guided the club promoted but also cemented them in the elite division.

Skipper Christian Norgaard left for the North London club and attacking duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a combined of thirty-nine goals in the previous campaign – were out the door, joining Manchester United and Newcastle United respectively.

Set-piece coach Andrews was promoted to succeed the Dane, while there was no striker among the summer signings.

A year of difficulty, possibly even the drop, was widely predicted. But here we are in January with the club in the upper echelons.

So, how have they managed it?

Igor Thiago's Record-breaking Season

Brentford's decision not to sign another striker was in part down to circumstance, with one forward's move not going through until the final day of the window.

But they also knew they had a £30 million striker already chomping at the bit.

Igor Thiago joined from Club Brugge in July 2024 for a then-record fee, but was plagued by injury in his debut campaign, going without a goal in eight appearances.

Thiago has set about compensating for lost time this season, though, with his brace against the Wearside club taking him to 16 league goals – the highest tally by a player from Brazil in a single English top-flight campaign.

Given the fellow Brazilians who have preceded him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with seventeen matches left to play.

"He's been a revelation," pundit an analyst said. "He is physically intimidating, quick, strong, but more skilled than people think. Excellent with his feet, either foot, he can score off both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. These numbers are fantastic. He must be so pleased. That's a big compliment to him."

That only a trio of global superstars have scored more in any of the continent's major leagues to this point highlights the level he is playing at.

And it is not just the quantity but the crucial nature of the goals that have been so vital for Brentford.

His first goal against the Black Cats was his 7th first goal of a game of the season. Given how often we are told the significance of the initial strike in a game, having someone you can rely on to take that early opportunity cannot be overstated.

Before the game against Sunderland, no player to have attempted at least thirty efforts this season has a better shot accuracy rate than Igor Thiago's 59.1 percent.

He finds the target. Do that often enough and the goals will – and have – come.

Given the hardships he had earlier in life, where he labored in construction to support his family following the death of his father, perhaps it should be no surprise that pressure on the pitch is something he handles with ease.

"Our scouts deserve a lot of credit for the type of players they bring in and personalities," Andrews said. "This is really impressive. He is a really special person who has fitted into life very well. He has had to earn this path. He has earned his journey and toiled. He has got serious grit about his personality. He is developing his abilities constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a largely complete centre-forward."

Andrews Proving Doubters Incorrect

Igor Thiago is the man of the moment but Brentford are not and have never been a one-man band.

While they had key individuals – a host of talent – under Frank, they were always seen as a team stronger than the sum of their parts.

The concern was that once the manager left, that may not be the case, and that the sum of Brentford's parts alone might not be enough to stay up.

Consequently, appointing their set-piece coach, with a blank managerial CV, and just a twelve months at the club was seen by those external observers as a gamble.

A first managerial job is a test for anyone, especially when it comes in the Premier League and having made the jump from specialist coach to the manager's office.

But given that Ipswich Town manager one candidate was the only other alternative that Brentford looked at, they were clearly confident they had the correct candidate.

To date, as often seems to be the case with the key decision makers at the club, it looks as if they were spot on.

The new boss won just one of his first 5 league games in charge but big home victories against Manchester United, Liverpool and the Magpies have followed.

Wins that, following their brilliant recent run, could prove all the more important in the pursuit for European qualification.

"We are in fine fettle and playing really well. We are playing with bravery and belief in everything we do with and without the ball," Andrews added. "We are happy with how we are going but we want to keep improving."

In a league where the European spots and the lower mid-table are currently separated by just a handful of points, they have little choice, because things could rapidly look very different.

But, for now, Brentford are beating the odds. And the longer that lasts, the closer to fruition those dreams of the continent will become.